How Did We Get So Far?

     Does it baffle you the way that it does me that the milieu of our culture is one of seemingly endless insanity? The zeitgeist of today is much different than it was even ten years ago. A sin that was once considered one of the seven deadly sins (pride) is now not only acceptable but is imposed into every nearly every corner of society. So many products and companies pander to the vast minority while pushing agendas that are offputting (or at least should be) to the majority. Recently Anheuser-Busch, Target, Ford, and the Los Angeles Dodgers, among many many others, have told us that they do not respect the traditional family values that were once the very fabric and foundation of our world. I suppose it is heartening that these companies have faced backlash and, in some cases, lost billions of dollars. The voice of the conservative traditional family has spoken with their wallets.

    Unfortunately, as pervasive as this new cancer is on us, it inevitably finds its way into places that we would have never imagined. The malignancy that is wokeism, without careful precaution, infiltrates even the most sacred arenas ... even the church. You may think that what I am about to say is a stretch and perhaps even a gross over-exaggeration, but please follow me with an open mind. If you are not convinced at the end of my argument, perhaps it might be wise to seek the counsel of a conservative methodist or presbyterian and ask them about the slippery slopes their denominations have found themselves sledding down. 

    For centuries ... no millennia, the Church has stood on the foundations of Scripture and on the shoulders of the early Church fathers and the Apostles. In the Word of God, we find the basis for complementarianism. God created man male and female. In His sovereignty and wisdom, God gave us specific gender roles and those extend to the responsibilities within His Church. To say that the office of Pastor is only for men does not disenfranchise the women who are called serve the Lord in their own capacities. To say that it does is dishonest and disingenuous. 

    Yet that is exactly what mega-church pastor and best-selling author Rick Warren is doing. His church, Saddleback Church, in Lake Forest, California, has begun to ordain female "pastors". As a result of this, the Executive Committee of the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) has deemed Warren and Saddleback to no longer be "in friendly cooperation" with the Convention. Warren has appealed the removal of his church after initially accepting the removal at the 2022 SBC annual meeting in Anaheim, California. When Warren addressed the convention in 2022, essentially, he paraded his achievements and importance through boasting of his church size and financial giving to SBC causes in front of the masses assembled there. He wanted the churches of the SBC to consider what they would be losing if they lost him. In his appeal, he has tweeted daily and in one of his tweets he said, "I listen to pastors. 16,000 respond to my letter to them. They're tired of angry fighters & scared by the climate of fear & exclusion created by powerbrokers. Why can't we return to the original Baptist Vision of unity through a mission, not a confession. That would heal the SBC." The only problem with this is that the mission is dependent on doctrine. The SBC is a friendly cooperation of churches who are on mission together as defined by doctrinal statements such as the Baptist Faith & Message 2000 which was prayerfully considered and written to underline the beliefs of the Bible within the associated churches. These statements were founded upon Scripture, and it is Scripture that must unite us. A vision of unity is fine so long as we are unified in Christ and the Word of God. The Church cannot, must not, be unequally yoked or united with the paradigms of wrong thinking that our enemy is promulgating upon us in this day. How Warren is able to twist Scripture and patristics to his way of thinking is beyond me, but it doesn't surprise me.

    Matt Walsh, of the Daily Wire, released a documentary entitled "What is a Woman?" It saddened me as I watched it to realize that something so simple that my boys aged 10 and 12 were able to answer correctly, stumped so many. Our culture fights about which restrooms to use. The 2% of the population that identifies as transgender, have so infiltrated the minds and hearts of the culture that their perversion is celebrated and often shoved down the throats of our children. I weep at what our enemy Satan is being able to do to the people of this world. To deny the roles of complementarianism that our good God, in his infinite wisdom, gave us in His Word, is a slippery slope indeed. Warren has capitulated to the pressure of a culture that sees no boundaries in gender and sex. He thinks himself a champion of women, yet he pushes them to the precipice of destruction in disobedience. The 2023 SBC Annual Meeting will be one of much consequence and, if he succeeds in his appeal, Warren will be leading the SBC to its eventual and swift demise. Again, if you don't believe me, look at other denominations and institutions that have followed this same shift away from God's design. It may seem a large stretch, but these issues were the exact ones that eventually led to the events that caused the great divide of the methodist and presbyterian denominations. I, for one, will be at the 2023 meeting in New Orleans personally to vote against his appeal.

    

Blue Bell And The Good Ol' Days

 I recently heard an advertisement for Blue Bell Ice Cream on the radio. In it a jingle plays that says, "The good ol' days are being made right now." That got me thinking ... man I could seriously go for some Blue Bell Ice Cream ... I mean have you tried their banana pudding flavor?!?! In my humble opinion, that stuff is the pinnacle of ice cream! If you haven't tried it yet, stop what you are doing and go get yourself some! It is that good! It also got me thinking about something a little more profound.

 I may be the only one who feels this way, but it seems that I am always wishing my life away. Let me explain. Every stage of life has been fraught with some level of difficulty that has led me to look forward to the next stage. When I was in high school, all I wanted was to get to college. When in college, I wanted to graduate and get to seminary. While in seminary, I could not wait to get to pastor a church. Along the way, I've thought that this certainly must be the most difficult life will be. Inevitably, when I reminisce, I somehow think that the previous stage had to have been easier than whatever I am going through right now. Even today I think about how things have to be easier when our children are adults, and we don't have the hectic schedules and the duties of parenthood. Retirement is a long way off, but it has got to be easier, right?

What I have needed to learn is that I may be looking at those previous stages through rose colored glasses. Sure, life gets tough sometimes, but you may well need to stop and smell the proverbial roses instead of gazing through the rose tint on the lenses. Not to be unnecessarily nihilistic but, as we all know quite well, we only have so many days in this life. We can be miserable in the here and now and constantly look forward to the future while longfully looking at the past. Or perhaps, we could live in the peace, joy, and contentment of Christ in our present. So many people, and therefore, the churches that they compose live in the glory of "The Good Ol' Days." Well, those days are gone. They're history. We cannot go back to them no matter how much we wish we could. In ten, twenty, one-hundred years from now, today might look like the good ol' days and we missed it! We were too busy lamenting our current situation to recognize the beauty of God's blessings right here and right now. 

The Word of God tells us in James 4:13-15, "Come now, you who say, 'Today or tomorrow we will go into such and such a town and spend a year there and trade and make a profit'— yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes. Instead, you ought to say, 'If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that.'" Today is all you have. Yesterday is gone and tomorrow is not promised. Look at everything that God has done for you. Bask in the Glory of the Lord. Stand in His consuming presence. You might be going through something unspeakably difficult right now. I fully understand and I do not wish to downplay that in any way. I do believe that it can be healthy to look forward to and pursue a brighter future. I am still pursuing that for myself and my family every single day. I guess what I am trying to say to you, and in a large way to myself, is that we must not be absent from the good ol' days that are being made right now! So hug your family tight, go on that vacation, take that risk, pursue God, serve the church, and eat that ice cream. Tomorrow, you might wish you could!

Letter To Powell Baptist Church In Response To SATF Report

 

Dear Powell Baptist Church Family,

A couple of weeks ago, I shared with many of you that a report was imminent on a serious trouble facing the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC). The report I was alluding deals with allegations of sexual abuse and subsequent cover up within the leadership of our convention. Last June, the convention met in Nashville Tennessee. Thousands of messengers (delegates from individual churches), myself included, heard of the potential scandal and voted overwhelmingly to form a task force to uncover the evil that lurked within our ranks. In response to that, the Sexual Abuse Task Force (SATF) was formed. The SATF then hired Guidepost Solutions, a third-party investigative firm to inquire into the egregious sin.

Guideposts took on the enormous task of investigating twenty years of allegations and compiled a 288 page report summarized here: SATF report shows EC pattern of resistance to addressing abuse claims | Baptist Press. This report angers, saddens, and embarrasses me. Although the report was released this past Sunday, May 22, 2022, I decided to take a few days before writing because, quite honestly, I have been so sickened by it that it took several days to even process. Men whom I have grown to love, trust, and look up to find their names on the pages. Some were complicit in the cover ups and one in particular has been named as an abuser. Even now it seems that words are failing me. Years and years of not only sexual misconduct by those who lead churches and our conventions, but lies, manipulations, gaslighting, and corruption have invaded the SBC. Many survivors of the abuse were maligned and intimidated. Their stories swept under the rug. However, Scripture tells us in Luke 8:17 that, “Nothing is hidden that will not be made manifest, nor is anything secret that will not be known and come to light.” It is imperative for us to understand that our sin is known to God even if it may be concealed by us.

Now it is upon us to respond to this report. Far too long the survivors have been silenced and justice has not been served. Next month, the SBC will meet again in Anaheim Calif., where Stephanie and I will attend as messengers representing our congregation. Surely much of our time there will be spent on discussing these matters and resolving to bring justice to survivors as well as make progress in ensuring that something like this will never take place again. Rest assured, if any sexual abuse allegations ever come to my desk, I will take immediate and proper action. Such wickedness has no place within the church or within any arena for that matter. Powell Baptist Church will respond swiftly to any such accusations and the appropriate authorities will be notified. Likewise, the 47000 churches that comprise the SBC have spoken and will hold our leadership accountable and place new standards of training, reporting, and response actions into our collective toolbox.

I am still grateful for the SBC and will still cooperate with the institution to further advance the Kingdom of God. What gives me hope is that it was indeed the rank-and-file pastors and laypeople who instigated the investigation to begin with. Our convention does not mandate anything to the local church. Contrarily, the local church, through its messengers direct the convention. In fact, the convention exists only for the collaborative efforts of the local church and, further, the local church is completely autonomous. While the SBC is receiving notable and global backlash for the damning report, it was the efforts of the messengers from the local church that brought this wickedness to light. We were grievously misrepresented by certain members of our leadership and we took action to demonstrate who we really are. Together as individual churches, as well as the Church as a whole, we will stand for the broken. Together we will stand for the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

This is a time of lamenting. Not only does this damage our beloved convention, it damages the Kingdom. I am, however, confident in one thing … the Church will not be defeated. I have written this to you because I know that by this point it has been headline news and as your pastor, I felt it necessary to respond to it with you. Being a part of Powell means that you are a part of the SBC. I want you to be equipped with the truth. Your relationship with the SBC need not be represented solely by this. God has used our convention to be one of the largest missional organizations the world has ever known. I have great confidence that the Lord will preserve this institution for His purposes, but even if He chooses not to, we can rest that His Church will remain. It is a distinct honor and privilege to be your pastor and with my efforts, I hope to represent you well to the SBC.

Because He Bled,

Dr. M. Nick Bates

Senior Pastor

The More You Miss Church, The Less You Miss Church

Name something that Covid-19 hasn't affected...go ahead...I'll wait. 

Listen, I know that our lives have been changed significantly in the last twelve months. I get it. To say it's been hard would be the understatement of a lifetime. As a pastor, I, and my fellow ministers have had to make some really difficult decisions over the last year. Decisions that they didn't teach us to make in seminary. Our church closed for a significant time last year...we weren't able to gather for Easter! During our closure, we transitioned to online services. Then we had a brief time of parking-lot meetings (What in the world?! What even is that?!) We were finally able to reopen but did so in a slow, methodical way. Many of our annual events were either cancelled or radically changed. The pandemic is still effecting us as, even as I write this, we have people from our congregation who are sick with the virus. It still wreaks havoc on much of our lives. It seems that literally everything has changed. Flashback to 2019 and this would seem like an overdramatic dystopian novel. Our lives are not the same. 

But one thing that has not changed is the sovereignty of our God. Yahweh is still on the throne and Jesus is still at His right hand and the Holy Spirit is still active in our hearts and lives. And He is still worthy of our worship. Church, I am convinced that it is time to come back to corporate worship. I do not write this in a cavalier, nonchalant, laissez faire way. I am still wrestling with making sure that we do everything that we can do to ensure the safety and wellbeing of everyone who enters the doors of our sanctuary. But I believe we must be intentional about worshiping our God. There are certainly still many who have legitimate health concerns that may forestall their return but for others, it is time to come back home.

Why?

Because as I mentioned, God is worthy of our worship and that is enough, but we will return to that in just a moment. There are other reasons as well. I recently read an article from the magazine, Christianity Today. In it, Tyler VanderWeele, Director of the Human Flourishing Program at Harvard University's T. H. Chan School of Public Health, was cited as saying, "Bible reading - along with other forms of community and discipleship, such as going to church or participating in a small group - appear to contribute to people's sense of well-being and happiness. The churches have an important and profound role in contributing to people's well-being in general - and especially so during this time."*  God has designed us to be in communion with Him and with other like-minded believers. We find our strength together. When you don't return to worship, there is a lack that the whole body feels in your absence. You are loved and missed by your family.

Back to the importance of the sovereignty of God. Worshiping God is intrinsic to the Christian life. Yes, of course, it is possible for us to worship God alone, and it is highly recommended. After all, our faith is a deeply personal one. But, God, through Christ, established the church as the avenue that we might come together as a body to proclaim His greatness. In His power, God gave us the church as a beautiful display of grace for our good and His glory. There is no other institution in the world more powerful. No other organization that can bring hope to a pandemic stricken world like the church. All because the church has been infused with the power of the Almighty Sovereign God. 

But the church consists of people. Without people who are committed to being the church, the church flounders. God will always preserve His church but do not take it for granted that He will preserve your church. That, in fact, is never promised. Many of you who will read this have come home and for that I am eternally grateful. For those who haven't, please see this as only a compassionate plea from someone who loves you and misses you. As Smokey Bear so eloquently said, "Only you can prevent forest fires." And only you can prevent your church from closing its doors and losing its impact for the Kingdom by your presence and active participation. So come home. Be cautious and responsible, but come home nevertheless. 

* Macinnis, Adam. "COVID-19 Hurts. But the Bible Brings Hope." Christianity Today, December 21,2020. Accessed February 25, 2021. https://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2021/january-february/bible-hope-covid19-flourishing-study.html

Life Can Change In An Instant

 As I am writing this, I am nearly two weeks post a serious automobile accident. Two weeks ago, I was enjoying Thanksgiving with my family without a second thought of something life changing happening. The next day I was involved in a wreck that could've taken my life. I am grateful and blessed to be here writing this. I have wounds that may end up being life-long scars. I am dealing with anxiety due to insurance issues that are proving to be a real headache but I am here. I am still here. I don't have a car anymore and not sure when I will be able to get another one...but I am here. I still have my family and perhaps we are closer than we have been in a long time. I have been told countless times how lucky I am to be alive...but I simply do not and cannot believe in luck. My God sustained me. 

I am a pastor who preaches to the people God has entrusted me with a message of hope and reliance on Him who can do much more than we could ever ask or think. I am finding out that it is easier to preach that when things are going well or during times that I am not facing a personal crisis. I confess that, although I am certainly grateful that He spared my life, I have had dark moments of the soul in recent days where I have had doubt in my heart. I suppose I am writing this as much for me as for anyone else who may ever read it. I want to know why. I want to have answers for my future that just aren't available to me right now. 

My family and my church have been entirely too gracious to me. My wife is an absolute superstar and I shutter to think what I would've done without her. My church and other friends have done everything within their power to make sure that we have been provided for and have brought delicious meals for my family to enjoy every single night since the accident. Much love has been demonstrated to me and to us. I am grateful but I am also human. I am striving to remember and place my faith in those words that God gave to Paul in 2 Corinthians 12:8-10: "Concerning this thing I pleaded with the Lord three times that it might depart from me. And He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in needs, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ’s sake. For when I am weak, then I am strong." Family, Church, Friends, this is hard and I am really asking for prayer on my behalf that I will rest in the strength of an almighty God. 

Over the years in ministry, I have learned and have been told that as a pastor, I must guard against showing vulnerability. That I must always practice what I preach. That I simply cannot demonstrate weakness. I understand and even agree with this concept to a certain degree. However, I also have come to realize, perhaps the hard way, that I must not rely on myself entirely. I must show that where I am weak, He is strong. So prayer warriors, I am pleading with you to lift me up to the throne room if and when you think of me. It appears that I may have a long road ahead and will need prayer and faith to sustain me. 

Never Quit! Never, Never, Never Quit!

     If you were to Google my title, you would find that it is a quote attributed to the "British Bulldog", Winston Churchill. Some report that after a long and eloquent introduction, Churchill stood and said only those words and then promptly sat back down. It is perhaps one of his most famous speeches ever. Churchill was delivering a commencement address to a group of college graduates when he delivered this infamous address … or did he??? 

    Actually, in the midst of a twenty minute speech, he said, "Never give in, never give in, never, never, never, never-in nothing, great or small, large or petty — never give in except to convictions of honour and good sense." Churchill was known as a tenacious, courageous, cigar-smoking, bulldog of a man who would stare down the likes of Hitler to assure the defeat of the Nazis and their world-dominating aspirations. His advice to these college graduates was to fight and fight hard … but know when to give up. 

    If something is right, we should fight for it! We know that our faith requires tenacity and strength. Paul told the Corinthians to "Be watchful, stand firm in the faith, act like men, be strong." (1 Cor. 16:13) Our enemy is pressing down on us with a fervor like I personally have never witnessed before. It is easy to see on the grand scale but I believe we are experiencing it on the personal level as well. So many have grown weary with the daily onslaught. We've got to fight … that's for certain! But church, we've got to fight smarter! Even the indomitable British Bulldog knew when to give in! I am persuaded that there are some really important areas that we need to throw in the towel. 

    So here's my formal resignation to the status quo. I quit! I give up! I give in! I quit being fearful! I quit being nominal! I quit being mediocre! I quit letting the enemy have the upper-hand! Too much is at stake for us to continue ho-hum, monotonous, tame ministry! The only time we should give in is when what we are fighting for stands in contradiction with honour or good (common) sense. It is not honorable for us to continue fighting for something less than excellence for the sake of Christ. Common sense has left us when we fight for outdated traditions that are irrelevant to our current context. Jesus expects us to be in the world and not of it. To be in the world is to be sensitive to the world. Jesus is never irrelevant! 

    It is not time to throw in the towel and concede defeat to our adversary! No, on the contrary, we must fight like we have never fought before. I use these broad terms like "we" because every believer should be on the battlefield against the common enemy … that old sly serpent Satan! But as the Pastor of Powell Baptist Church, it is my responsibility to lead my regiment into battle! So I quit anything that hinders me from being the tenacious, courageous, non cigar-smoking, bulldog of a man that will stare down our adversary to assure the defeat of evil and it's soul dominating aspirations! 2 Chronicles exhorts, "But you, take courage! Do not let your hands be weak, for your work shall be rewarded." Come on troops! Who's with me?!?! LET'S GO!!! 

Ministering In a Pandemic

I never imagined that I would pastor a church through a pandemic. It has been challenging to say the least. I have read so many articles, spent countless evenings watching the news broadcasts, and been on more zoom chats than I care to ever repeat. And, unfortunately, its far from over. Navigating this has been one of the toughest things that I think I have ever had to do. It has been physically, emotionally, mentally, and spiritually draining. I miss lots of things but none compares to the longing that I have for the fellowship of the church body. If this coronavirus pandemic has done anything, it has renewed my love for the church.

I can honestly say that I was taking our ability to meet together for granted. It's not that I didn't love to be here with the people or to be able to worship corporately. It's more that I just assumed I would always have the freedom to do so. Although I know that the persecuted church exists all around the world and there are people who risk their lives every week to worship together, I never imagined that what I considered a basic human freedom and right would ever be taken from me. We are approaching a time where we will be back together finally but in the beginning it's going to be tough. It just won't be the same. We will be socially distancing. We will wear masks. We will not be able to extend the right hand of Christian fellowship or enjoy a warm embrace from our brothers and sisters. I am tired...exhausted even. I have actually stopped watching so much news but I did watch yesterday and saw the horrific pictures of Brazilians digging mass graves as their death toll continues to rise dramatically. My heart breaks for those who have lost loved ones. My heart breaks for those who have lost their livelihoods. The effects of this pandemic are far-reaching and may be felt for a number of years. I have such a sense of loss that words actually fail me to say or to write in an appropriate manner how this hurts.

But, nevertheless, here we are. One thing is for certain, and that is we can rest in the loving arms of Yahweh. In his embrace, we have nothing to fear. We can trust that, even through such tragedy, we are still loved and cared for in a radical way. This is the same God who rescued Israel from slavery and torment. He is the same God who rescued Daniel from the ravenous mouths of lions. The same God who rescued Noah, Jonah, David, Peter, James, John, and Paul. He is the same God who has rescued me over and over and over again. My God will never fail. Whether He rescues me on Earth or He chooses to rescue us who believe in the name of Jesus through our deaths or His second coming, I can know that my God is in complete sovereign control...and I can rest.

As I said earlier, the one thing that I miss the most is the fellowship and corporate worship with the saints. I sincerely believe that one of the greatest blessings, one of the finer things in life, is the ability to gather together with the body of Christ. It has done my heart such good to have been able to speak with and even sometimes see some of the members of my church. We've shared laughs, tears, happiness, heartache, excitement, and frustration over the last couple of months. I do not know what I would have done without the people of God. We were never meant to do this life alone. We were always meant to be together...to have each other. God has always intended us to have meaningful relationships with each other. We build each other up. At the end of the day, it is we who have the responsibility to love each other. I first want to say thank you to everyone who has demonstrated love and care for me and my family. But I also want to exhort you to reach out to someone and let them know just how much you care. You may never know the impact that a phone call or a note might have. In a time when people are feeling isolated, lonely, and depressed, it means more now than ever. 

I also want to thank everyone who has been so faithful in continuing to give generously and sacrificially to the church. That also means more now than perhaps ever before. We have been given the awesome privilege and responsibility to be the church here in our local area. We are an outpost of heaven...a lighthouse of grace here on Earth. We must continue our work here. The Gospel has always needed to be shared but I believe we are living in an unprecedented time when people may be more open to have Gospel conversations than they ever have been in our lifetime. That happens through the ministries of the local church. I understand that it is the responsibility of every believer to share the Gospel but the discipleship is caught at church. The training happens at church. The teaching and modeling happens at church. To think of thousands dying as a result of a pandemic is horrific enough...but to know that many of those who die are doing so without the hope of Jesus is too much. This sobering thought should give us all pause. I ask you...no I plead with you to give generously and sacrificially so that we are able to remain viable in these precarious times. Until the Lord of the harvest comes again, we have work to do in His vineyard. God orchestrated all of this before the foundation of the world. He is, was, and ever will be faithful...but He has always used people to accomplish His purposes. He made you and me for such a time as this. Let us leverage our time, money, and resources...yes even our own lives to be the hands and feet of Jesus when the world needs us most.